I have been planning to acquire one of these heads to support an Arca-Swiss 4x5 Discovery on a Gitzo 1325 carbon fiber tripod. The head is rated for 5kg/11 lbs.
I use a Nikkor 120mm macro, a Rodenstock 150mm and a Wollensak 254mm lens on the camera. The idea was to use the Manfrotto head to supplement my Arca-Swiss B1 ballhead when I want more precise control, and I was confident that the Manfrotto would be adequate for the task.
Now a complication has arisen and I need a reality check. I've acquired a 25cm extension for the Discovery's 30cm rail, and I'm about to acquire a 360mm lens. The lens is Copal 3 and weighs 1.4kg/3.1 lbs.
The combined weight of the camera and this lens will be very close to 5kg/11 lbs.
So here are my questions:
Is the capacity rating for this head right on, conservative or optimistic?
If there is a capacity problem with using the head with this camera/lens combination, would there also be a problem if I used the combination only with the Arca-Swiss B1, which if I recall is rated for quite a lot more than 11 lbs. That said, I've always had the sense that the B1 capacity has been kind of optimistic.
I would prefer to avoid buying a bigger geared head, because the 410 is otherwise just right, not only for most of my 4x5 purposes, but also for my medium format camera and binoculars.
I think that the Gitzo 1325 tripod is plenty strong enough and is not an issue, I'm just not sure about the 410 head.
Thanks.
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